Big crowd says farewell to much-loved musician

A Bath woman has paid tribute to her husband, a muchloved actor and musician from Bath.

Brin Johnson passed away in July and his popularity could be seen in the crowds who attended his funeral.

His wife, Mary, said Brin was a “very calm and collected man” who would “always try to see the good in people”.

Over the years, he brought joy to thousands across the South West with his guitar gigs and amateur dramatics.

Brin was born in 1947 to parents who were in the RAF and first picked up a guitar during a short stint in Singapore.

In 1963, the family moved to a camp in Colerne where, as a teenager, he met Mary.

Over the next two years, they got to know each other and, when Mary was just 17, they got engaged.

But when her parents left the RAF and moved to Scotland, the sweethearts drifted apart. It was not until August 1969 that they were reunited, and in October that year, they married.

Mary said: “When I first met Brin, I thought he was very handsome. We were part of a big crowd of teenagers, but just we seemed right for each other and, in the end, we were married for over 51 years.

“Nothing was a problem for him and if anyone else had a problem he could help them out quite easily.

“He really didn’t have any enemies and he never had a bad word to say about anybody.”

In 1982, Brin and Mary took over Northend Stores, the local village shop, and ran it for three years. Brin also joined the Northenders PTA and put on plays in his spare time.

After three years in Brighton, the pair returned to Batheaston, where they lived together for the next 34 years.

During that time, Brin played in “Cellar”, a band who performed in Brunswick Street, and rose to

The church was full and there were a lot of people outside too. We even had a speaker outside so they could hear. Brin Johnson’s wife, Mary

fame with Colin Cook, under the name “BJ and the Kipper”.

Mary explained that Colin’s nickname had come from an unfortunate run-in with an indoor fire in Dubrovnik, which made him “look just like a kipper being smoked”.

Through the 70s, 80s and 90s, Brin played the guitar with Cellar, Kipper, and on his own, in pubs around the South West and South Wales. As an actor, he rose to fame when he won a Rose Bowl award for his interpretation of Stephano in “The Tempest” at the Rondo Theatre.

He was also part of an acclaimed production of “Pencoweth” at the prestigious Minack Theatre in Cornwall, playing Crabtree the fisherman.

Brin had a great sense of humour and wasn’t afraid to play the pantomime dame when required for his local drama group, Encore.

When he retired from his day job as a banker, Brin spent 10 years as the secretary and treasurer of the hall committee, helping put plans for the new one in motion.

He also kept an allotment and ran a small bookkeeping business when he wasn’t looking after his four grandchildren or travelling around the UK in a caravan with Mary.

It was on the last of these caravan trips that he began to feel unwell and suffered a sudden heart attack. He passed away on July 20, aged 73.

Mary said that Brin’s loss was “a big shock for everyone” and that she had been amazed by how many people came to his funeral on Thursday, August 12.

“The church was full and there were a lot of people outside too. We even had a speaker outside so they could hear.

“There were all the landlords and landladies he had made friends with over the years and people who used to see him play,” she said.